Can I have your attention please!

Can I have your attention & few minutes from your busy schedule please! I want to share something with you all.

It has been a wonderful journey in the blogosphere so far. And you are the people who made it beautiful for me; and for that, from my bottom of my heart I am saying you all a big thank you. A blog that was born on September 2011 is now 8 months old. And it’s now lot more older, mature & I hope better.

You people blessed me with your likes, comments & few awards. But I think now it’s time to request you all not to pass on any more awards to my blog. I hope I am not sounding arrogant while saying this.

There are two reasons behind making my blog “Being Arindam” award free.

In last few months some bloggers pass on different awards to my blog, but after some time I have never seen some of them again in my blog. So I thought what’s the point of getting these awards, when someone passing on it to me with out even knowing me well.

Then again for me these awards had importance because , I was thinking that, I could divert the traffic of my blog to fellow bloggers, whom I love & respect by passing on these awards . And I hope you realize that, I gave my best effort while creating these award posts, to make them entertaining and different. But to be honest somehow I realized that, very few people bother to click on the link of the blogs, anyone nominate in his/her award acceptance post.

But now I will try to send my love & respect to different blogs in my own way. So now onward I am going to link one blog from my widget area as the “Blog of the week”. I hope by doing this I can send my best wishes to one blogger in a much better way then passing on an award to some 7, 10, 20….. ‘n’ blogs.

I know you people are really talented writers and photographers. So here comes another request for you- “I know you all write from your heart. So I request you to please divert some of your talent and time in creating something on a particular topic with a message in it(it may be in form of writing or photography).

Write a post on any topic you wish on each Saturday with a post called “Blog for change this weekend” to create awareness or to pass on an important message to the society.

To make it easy for others to check out your post, title your blog post “Blog for change this weekend: (Topic you chose for the week)” and be sure to use the “blogforchange″ tag.

I am not sure if this attempt can make our planet better one; but I really hope & wish, it will.

For example- Suppose your this week’s topic is “Racism”. Then you will create something with the post name as, “”Blog for the change weekend- Racism” and tag it as blogforchange”; to create awareness on this issue with a message you want to pass on to all.

I am not starting this campaign with any selfish intention. I hope you all are going to support me as you always do. I hope together we will try to bring a change to this world. Who knows sometimes small attempts end up with something big.

I would love to listen what you have to say on this. And if you have any suggestion then please write it in the comment box. Please vote & send your feed back.

Yes its true what you said about Awards. I love them no doubt but they aren’t getting the right response as they should. Plus sometimes, people are busy when they get an award so either they just pass it on for formality or it loses the chain.

Anyway I do like what you are starting here. I am quite busy these days with work ( the reason I am barely writing and if I do, with bad quality :( ) but I will try to keep up as and when I can.

Yes, many people think that award is just a chain. So I decided not to be part of it anymore. And about blog for the change, it’s a thing that I planned since a long time, although I know It will be a difficult job to gather the information and share a problem of our society with the world. Still I think someone has to start it. So why not me! Let’s see how far it goes.

No air of arrogance felt, Arindam. I’m with you on the Award-free blog. What’s brilliant also is your Blog of the Week idea. That only proves how generous and compassionate you are in the blogosphere. I’ll be looking forward to checking out the blogs you will feature very soon. Same goes for the writing challenge. I can’t promise any commitment, but I will for sure be on the lookout.

Thank you Addie. There are lots of other bloggers whom I know, has more followers than me. They do not need me to promote their blog. But “Blog of the week” is just a way to thank them & send them some good wishes.
And the writing challenge is not any challenge, rather it is all about doing our bit for the society in a small way with the creative process we are good at. It may be photography or writing. I just want through our blog we must try to do something good and important. This Idea came to me, when I saw hundreds of people visited my blog with the search terms like youngest mother & mercy killing. So I realized I can create awareness among people. Let’s hope for the best.

Life is very full so I make sporadic contact with various blogs – if I commented on all of them to the degree they deserve, there would be no time to look after home, social life or writing!

I have had to accept that my presence will shift and change in the blogosphere. My readership has also been shifting and changing in a most interesting manner. That’s to be expected as we all evolve. If everything stayed the same, would we feel stagnant?

You remind me that I have not responded to a couple of awards I was given this past while One was a duplicate of one you gave me, Arindam. I agree – awards are great – but they are especially important for people who are just starting out. After a few years and duplications, it’s hard to know how to respond.

Plus I have a tough time about not picking people. Hopefully you have a good way of doing it and your new approach won’t be difficult.

Yes Amy aunty, it’s really difficult to comment all blogs. And yes, my readership is also evolving to a great extent these days. I took a break of some 15-20days in starting of this year. And when i returned, I saw another aspect of blogging which is shifting & changing. :) But I am glad that, still I have some wonderful people to support me, inspire me & help me to bring best out of me; whom I really consider more than virtual friends now.
And as always thanks for all your support and blessings!

Ah, awards. I have about seven, that I’ve had for quite awhile. And they are all very much appreciated, but I’ve simply not had the time to post them with the respect they deserve, so have not yet posted them at all. Due to the time factor, I will probably not join your Saturday feature myself, on a regular basis. However, I wish you the best in coming up with, and answering, themes for a specific Saturday topic. Good post, Arindam. Award free, or not, I’ll see you soon. :)

Thanks a lot Marcy. :) I too appreciated getting awards from others. But as I wrote in this post, I do not think, I could justify with the awards I got. But I am really thankful to all those people who pass on so many awards to my blog.
Yes, it’s not a problem if you can’t join on regular basis. I will appreciate if once in a while, you will come up with those problems your part of world is facing through your blog. As always thanks a lot for the support Marcy.

Hi,
Awards are wonderful to receive, but I totally agree with what you have written about them, we don’t always have the time these days to respond to each and every one, so your Idea is wonderful about the once a week mention. :)

My weekends are already busy, I put in my weekend jokes as you know, which go in on a Saturday here on the other side of the world, and then on Sunday I usually don’t put a post in at all, as weekends are always full with seeing family and friends. :D

Yes, I hope once a week will also help you to visit only two blogs I am going to mention per week. So I hope it’s a better concept that these blogging awards. :)
And again I know you are very much busy with your blogging schedule. So do not worry about that. I will love to see you giving your feedback on my Saturday post.

I do respect your decision to make your blog become an award free blog. The idea of creating a Blog of the week is a brilliant one, that sounds like a better gesture to create traffic to your blogger friends than passing out awards here and there. I also like the Blog for the change this weekend and the awareness it attempts to creative. It’s a great objective. As for myself I have to admit I won’t follow suit, since I can’t commit myself to more than I already have on my table, but I sincerely hope many people will.

Thanks for these kind words. But I just want to let you know that, the award you pass on to me will always be special, although I never created the award acceptance post for that one. But You are one of those people, from whom I always try to learn something new. You will always be a big source of inspiration for me.
And I hope the “Blog for change” will get support form the blogosphere. Finger crossed! :)

I really wish your “Blog for a Change” push through. Although, I, for one, won’t probably participate. I guess if the topic fits me or something I relate to, I would occasionally join. The way I blog now really shows, I just got a lot busier than used to be. But really, I like that idea because it will push bloggers to write.
Maybe you could make it a question instead of just a one-liner? Just a thought. Either how, again, great diea.

HI Rommel,
I wish & hope the same that this concept will push through. Because I always believe our blog has the ability to create awareness among peoples. Yes You can join when ever you will feel like.
Yes your suggestion is a really good one. Even I was thinking about the same, to make it a question based on any issue or problem rather than choosing specific topic.
Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence.

Hi Arindam,
I agree with the comments above. I think that we all focus, lose focus, and then refocus on the blogs we follow. Sometimes, my mood works with one better. If my personal life is unsettled, I look for the crazier blos for relief. When life is normal, I look for thoughtfulness, and that is when I look most closely at your blog, Arindam.

I agree with your position on blog awards. They are chain-letters, and they (1) take a lot of work to redo thoughtfully, and (2) nobody pays attention to whether you have won a particular award before giving it to you again.

This is your blog and it should (and really does) express you, Arindam. The choices are yours. I follow you because you are you — even though I don’t always comment, and rarely do so in such a lengthy manner as today. Do what you think is good, interesting, fun, thoughtful — whatever. I for one will keep coming on back!

Yes, in blogging we shift our focus to different blogs as per our mood. I will completely agree with on this. And I really believe that this shifting sometimes helps each one of us to try harder and come with something new & interesting to gain that momentum with our blogs again. I always take it as a healthy trend of blogging. At least it helps me grow as a writer, because I am too much afraid of losing any of those wonderful people who visit my blog. :) But sometimes I just think it was their personal opinion, about which I could not do much about that; I can only try my level best to make this blog worth reading.

And “Blog of the week” concept came to my mind because- I just met some wonderful new bloggers; who work hard with their blogs and come up with some excellent posts; but they do not have many followers. It’s really disappointing. So I will try my level best to promote a new blog through mine; so that I can divert some traffic to their blogs. I am not sure if it will work. But let’s see how it will go.

I know you always support me and bless me. Thanks a lot for this comment, I know you do not post such a lengthy comment too often. So I am feeling blessed after getting this comment. I will try my best to never disappoint you with my blog.

can’t say anything about awards arindam! never got one….. but i love both your ideas… blog of the week to showcase other blogs and blog for change… I commit to writing ever week for “blog for change”…. just one small suggestion, can we call it blog for change instead of blog for the change… sounds better! :) take care and all the best

I can tell you, with in few more week’s awards are going to rain on your blog. I hope you will enjoy that experience.
Yes your suggestion is a good one, I will make it the way you want it. Yes, I will love to read what are the things you want to change in our society.
Thanks a lot for your support, Sapna. :)

i don’t care much for awards Arindam, I write cause i have something to say and the net is a readily available audience that’s not too personal…..so they don’t feel pressurized into reading me :) thanks anyways! i’ve made a few friends here, u among them and its just nice to hear what you people have to say… looking forward to saturdays !

It’s the best attitude a person can carry; we all need to write with out much caring about the awards, like or comments. We need to write, because we love doing that. Keep on writing and keep on inspiring us. Have a great week ahead. :)

Oh Arindam, you have the heart of a giant tree. I appreciate you candor about the awards. I will say that it always made me feel good to think someone else thought my scribbles were worth a mention. I’m not sure how I find other blogs. I guess by the comments they leave on other sites. Unfortunately that leaves out the folks who only click the “Like” button because I don’t get a chance to know them. I appreciate how you are “the change you want to see in the world.”

Thanks a lot Barb for being so kind to me. :)
If I am not wrong, you came across my blog through Renee’s award acceptance post. SO yes, sometimes awards are good also. :)
Even just like you I find other blogs through their comments on other’s posts. And I also do not get a chance to know those people who only hit the like button.
And to be honest, till now “I am not the change I want to see in the world.” But I hope one day I will be.

Great ideas Arindam, especially featuring a blog of the week. I’ll be supporting your BlogForTheChange probably sporadically. . .it’s hard when your internet service has its own mind and controls your cyber life. *sigh*
Keep up the good work and inspirations! :)

Thanks a lot. I am glad to see responding to my fast post of this campaign. I know it’s not possible for everyone to take part in this, but I would love to see once in a while everyone would spend their weekend sharing problems their part of world is facing.

the awards are fun when people actually take the time to read it and comment on it.
My blog got a lot more visitors with the first few awards. But then it started being bombarded and sometimes become an obligatory chore …. so I get your point.
But a chain blog post once in a while would be great. So I will never totally ban the idea of chain posts …:D
I just have been very busy these past weeks to really blog. a few weeks back i was blogging everyday …
the idea about blog for change is a good one … very innovative and an important initiative … I ‘ll try to join on once in a while :D

Yes Amira, Like everything else in this world award has also its own merit and demerit. But I somehow realized that, I do not fit in to this whole concept anymore. So I came up with blog of the week. Let’s see how it goes.
I would love to see you joining to blog for change campaign. It’ not that, you have to come up with a new post every week. You can join whenever you feel, you need to share something important with the world through your blog.

I definitely agree with your feelings on award free blogging. I’m considering putting an “award free” button on my blog, and like yours a lot. Would it be ok if I used it? of course I’d link back to you!

[…] that bloggers will write about social causes close to their heart. You can read more about this here. Though this is supposed to be on Saturdays, I know Arindam will not mind the delay! And I hope […]